Almost exactly 12 years after First Aid Kit first played the Royal Albert Hall, they’re back at the same venue, this time with the 65-piece Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in tow, conducted by Erik Arvinder. Tickets went on sale six months ago, selling out almost immediately and necessitating the addition of a second date.
The coming together of First Aid Kit and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra has been some time in the making. Both the Söderberg sisters have had children in the past few years, which led to them taking “maternity leave” and meant this concert was delayed. However, it’s not only new additions to their families that mean this is a 12-year anniversary celebration of their classic album Stay Gold, rather than a 10th birthday one. It must be some logistical feat to take such a large group of musicians on the road. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra comprises not one, but four percussionists, a seven-piece brass section, 10 woodwind players, a battalion of violins, violas and cellos, an enormous harp, plus a massive array of other instruments.
After the orchestra files on, Klara and Johanna enter stage left, strapping on acoustic and bass guitars respectively, before launching straight into My Silver Lining. The strings shimmer and shine, sending tingles down our spines. There’s an element of nostalgia in the first half, with the band recalling memories of recording Stay Gold over a four-week period in a very cold Omaha, Nebraska, with producer Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, of whom the sisters are big fans. There are also tales of some of their UK tours, including an incident when their SatNav failed in Exeter and the band not being able to understand a word the locals said when they gave them directions.
During the show, the sisters also reflect on the fact that, until the release of Stay Gold, they had adhered to a strictly acoustic approach to recording, as dictated by the folk tradition. However, after writing the songs which would form the album, they had a change of heart, knowing that big production values and strings were needed to do justice to the songs. Klara reflects on how the sisters felt at the time, saying: “So we just said Fuck it, let’s play what we want.” Klara declares that having the orchestra back them allows the album to “live up to its potential.” That’s certainly the case. The orchestra and band together are absolutely magnificent. It’s hard to imagine seeing First Aid Kit live again without the lush soundscape we’re treated to tonight. The first half ends with Klara and Johanna perched on the front of the stage to deliver the album’s final track, A Long Time Ago.
Following a 25-minute break, the Söderberg sisters reappear in coordinated flowing gowns with a distinctly 1970s feel for a greatest hits set which commences with Fireworks. It’s not just the mass of strings that adds to the sound. The brass section is beautifully soulful on many of the songs, as evidenced on Angels. Back in August 2011, the sisters performed Dancing Barefoot at the Polar Music Prize gala in Stockholm as a tribute to laureate Patti Smith. Their rendition was so powerful that it moved Smith, who was in the audience, to tears. A year later, Klara and Johanna relate how they were back at “Sweden’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize of Music” to play America in front of Paul Simon. Klara declares that she was so nervous that she downed five cans of Red Bull in advance of performing before a grumpy-looking Simon seated directly in front of them in the first row. Those fears proved unfounded when he gave them a standing ovation, and tonight’s transcendent version of the Simon and Garfunkel standard is warmly received by the audience.
After Wild Horses II, one member of the orchestra takes his place behind the behemoth that is the hall’s organ to contribute to Nothing Has to Be True. It’s a tricky task. With its 147 stops, four separate keyboards, a 30-note pedalboard and 9,999 pipes, it’s one of the largest organs in Europe and one of the most complex instruments to play in the world. After a brief interlude, the two sisters are called back, and tribute is paid to the recently departed Dolly Parton, with a performance of I Will Always Love You. The evening culminates with Emmylou, the band’s paean to Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash. By the end of the first verse, the hall is lit up by the screens of mobile phones being waved, and the band gets the audience to sing one of the choruses by themselves, surprisingly tunefully. It’s a fitting way to end the show. The combination of First Aid Kit and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was delightful and made for a truly sublime evening.
